


Destiny

by StardustRainbow



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Time Travel, clueless minayeon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-19
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-15 20:28:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 21,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29564709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StardustRainbow/pseuds/StardustRainbow
Summary: "Do you know how Nayeon died?""An artery rupture in the heart." Her voice is meloncholic, because even saying this out loud in her dream pains her."She died of a broken heart." The cloaked figure reaffirms."Do you know why she had a broken heart?"Mina stares at the figure for a moment. "I already told you.""She had no will to live." The cloaked figure exclaims. "I had to cut her life short."Mina refuses to believe it. Nayeon is always full of life, why would she have no will to live?"She lingers between the light and the shadows, between heaven and earth." The cloaked figure croaks, their image begins to appear fainter and fainter as the mist grows thick around them. "Because a soul that has a last wish can not leave this world.""A wish?" Mina whispers."A dying wish." The cloaked figure repeats."This one here grants your wish , so you can find her wish and set her free."--------------Nayeon dies in a car crash. Mina gets one chance to travel back in time to find her last wish.
Relationships: Hirai Momo/Myoui Mina, Im Nayeon/Myoui Mina
Comments: 39
Kudos: 75





	1. Chapter 1

Nurses rush in and out of the intensive care unit through the heavy double doors, the beep of a monitor sounding faintly through them when they open and close. Jeongyeon paces back and forth in the long corridor that smells of bleach and chemicals. Tzuyu leans back against the bland hospital walls, her eyes skittering to the door often with expectation. Sana is bent over in a chair, her face buried in her hands as she takes slow steadying breaths. Dahyun sits next to her with a comforting hand over her shoulder.

Momo hasn't stopped crying. Chaeyoung holds her, her own hands trembling and face pale. Jihyo sits across them, a permanent frown etched on her forehead as her mind fills with a series of horrible outcomes, each worse than the last.

Mina's eyes are blank and unfocused as she stares at the thin air before her. She knows Nayeon is going to step out of the ICU with her bright bunny smile anytime. She's cheerful, generous with her smiles and free with her hugs. But most importantly, she's their biggest source of strength. She's definitely not going down without a fight.

Mina closes her eyes.

The beeping sounds fade away slowly. The uneasy feeling at the pit of her stomach grows.

The heavy double door opens and a man in surgical clothes appear from behind them. He removes his gloves and face mask and speaks in a low solemn voice.

"I'm sorry. We tried everything." Mina doesn't hear a word after that. She sits back on the hard plastic chair, her lips quivering and legs buckling, tears streaking down her beautiful face. There's an emptiness in her heart and numbness enveloping her brain. Despite the tears, she doesn't cry. A single sound doesn't leave her trembling lips and heaving chest. The tears continue to flow unchecked.

Three days later Nayeon's laid to rest. Mina vaguely hears family and friends speaking about her during the service. Fans are outside the venue crying and wailing in the streets. Her band mates are openly sobbing, the despair and grief in their cries moves even the strongest of hearts in the room.

But Mina feels nothing.

Nayeon looks peaceful, there's a smile stained on her lips like even death couldn't steal that from her. There are no visible injuries anywhere.

Mina vaguely remembers one of the doctors explaining to the girls that the force with which the steering wheel impacted her chest ruptured an artery in the heart leading to a fatal cardiac arrest.

But to her, Nayeon is just sleeping. Her mind refuses to believe anything else. The nothingness she feels threatens to engulf her entirely as she watches the casket lowering to it's final resting place.

The tears don't stop.

But she still doesn't cry.

When the alarm wakes her up next morning in the dorm, she puts her feet down softly on the floor and tells Nayeon that it's time to wake up. The reality slowly hits her as she stops and stares at the empty bed next to hers.

Mina moves out of the room that day.

She walks Kookeu to the nearby park every day, and stares at a certain spot he barks at and tries to dig through. She walks him back him knowing that's the spot Nayeon and Kookeu always sat on when they went for their daily walks.

The girls don't get back to work for twelve months. Conversation between them is strained, the cheerful absence in the dorm painfully felt every single second. Every now and then one of them breaks down, and other girls gather around, giving them the strength they need to get through the pain and anguish.

Mina doesn't break down. She doesn't cry either. She refuses to go to the cemetery on the first year death anniversary. Nayeon isn't under some dirt and earth, because her scent still lingers in the living room, her loud laugh still echoes in the kitchen, her twinkling eyes still shine in the stars she sees at night.

When the girls get back from the cemetery, they decide to watch an episode of healing camp. They feel closer to the older girl when they re-watch clips of them as a group, but Mina hates it. She stares out the window as the girls watch the episode.

"Look at her stealing from our tent." Jihyo laughs sadly as she fondly looks at Nayeon on the television screen. "She was a top comedian."

"She was so cheerful and funny." Tzuyu nods as tears well up behind her eyes. "I miss her so much."

They laugh through their tears when Nayeon steals things behind Mina's back and poses with the stolen goods. 

"She was such a big baby." Jeongyeon reminisces fondly.

"Is." Mina mutters under her breath, her eyes focused on the cloud patterns outside the window.

"She's gone Minayah." Jeongyeon tilts her head, worry filling her face. "You have to accept it."

"She's a big baby." Mina snaps. "Don't talk about her in past tense." Hot tears well down her eyes. She stands up, lips trembling as she wipes at her tears angrily. "You talk about her like she's not alive in our memories. I still feel her everywhere." She yells pointing to her heart. "So yes, don't talk about her in past tense."

The girls share a worried glance as they look at the girl disappearing into her bedroom.

"I wish she would cry her heart out once." Sana sobs into her hands.

Her wish comes true after a month.

\--------------

The show has to go on. Life has to move on. So Mina gets back on stage after thirteen months, puts on her professional face, faking a smile whenever she's required to.

They're at the rehearsals on the stage. The other girls try to joke and lighten up the mood, but Mina is painfully aware of the missing member. Through the corner of her vision, she sees a bunny stuffed toy being thrown onto the stage. She looks around to see who threw it but the staff and camera crew seem occupied with their work.

_Where did you come from?_ She takes couple of steps forward, arm stretched out to reach it. 

"Mina, careful." Her manager yells as a loud crash sounds behind her.

She picks up the toy in trembling hands, her eyes widening when she sees a set light shattered on the floor.

"Are you okay?" The girls rush towards her.

Later she learns, a screw has loosened and if she hadn't taken those few steps forward, the heavy focus light would have crashed right on top of her, killing her instantly.

It's not the first time she has felt Nayeon is still around, protecting her, watching over her. Nayeon has always been protective of her, never leaving her side when she needed someone to pull her through, with a smile shining in her dark eyes.

_"Minayah, are you still upset over your breakup?" Nayeon steals a French fry from her plate, sitting by her side._

_Mina gives her a reassuring smile. "You know I'm not."_

_Momo and Mina's relationship only lasts six months, because even though the sex is good there is no spark between them. They decide to end it because even after six months neither of them felt the need to say the magical three words._

_"You will talk to me if something bothers you though?" Nayeon masks the concern by trying to playfully reach for the last of the French fries._

_"Of course Nayeon-chan." Mina gives it to her willingly._

Mina gets up from her bed when she hears a window rattle in the living room. She shuts it and turns on the television because her thoughts are keeping her up anyway. Kookeu who's sleeping on a mat by the front door walks to Mina's side and lays quietly by her feet. Mina stares at the front door for a little while.

_"Where are you going?" Jihyo narrows her eyes at Nayeon who is wearing a white jumper, blue jeans and a beanie. She looks like a child up to mischief._

_"I'll be back in ten minutes." She puts her boots on, picking up her car keys in a rush, knowing Jihyo would stop her if she stayed even a little longer._

_Mina looks out the window at the snow falling slowly and steadily. An uneasy feeling grows in the pit of her stomach. She shakes it away._

_"Nayeon-chan." Mina goes to the door, and hands her phone. "You left this on the table."_

_"Thank you Minayah." Her eyes twinkle and lips quirk up in an adorable smile. Mina feels an overwhelming urge to hug her, but her shy nature stops her and she doesn't._

Mina wishes that instead of giving her the phone, she'd stopped her from stepping out the door, hugged her when she had the chance to before she slipped away forever. She wishes she'd taken a moment to look at her beautiful childlike innocent face which always brought so much happiness to everyone around her.

Mina closes her eyes as flashes of black and grey letters of her name on the headstone rolls through her mind. Her attention is drawn by Kookeu walking towards Nayeon's room and nuzzling his face against the door making soft mewling noises. As if walking in a daze, she walks towards the room she's avoided for a year. She flicks on the soft light in the bedroom.The nothingness she has felt for a long time dissolves to sadness when she realizes that the scent of the older girl that usually lingers in the room is fading.

She opens the wooden cupboard with trembling hands and pulls out the Bugs Bunny sweater she always wore on harsh winter days. Her scent is faint, but it's comforting and Mina pulls it over her head. She sits on Nayeon's bed staring at the empty walls. The girls have taken down her pictures because they couldn't deal with looking at something they've lost everyday. Mina hugs the sweater tighter around her and snuggles into its warmth.

Kookeu snuggles into her side as she looks around the room.

Nayeon is gone. The light in her eyes consumed by death's darkness. All she has left is a fading scent in her room and clothes. Soon, that will be gone too. The reality finally crashes on her. Her lips quiver as waves of pain washes over her and her body convulses to meet each one.

She is not going to see Nayeon's playful eyes twinkling with mirth, big soft hands stealing food, lips biting back a smile trying to act innocent while playing a prank, strong arms giving out comforting hugs, voice whining incessantly when she's hungry and face going soft when she sleeps.

_"She looks so cute." Dahyun cooes, as the house becomes finally quiet because Nayeon is fast asleep on the couch._

_"My ears were starting to hurt." Jeongyeon laughs but shuffles the hair on Nayeon's head affectionately. "I'm glad she fell asleep."_

_"It's like living with a baby." Jihyo snorts. "You want them to sleep so you can catch a break, but the moment they go to sleep you miss their cute antics and want to wake them up badly."_

_Mina throws a soft glance at Nayeon._

_"Put chocolate on top of the pizza." The older girl mumbles in her sleep._

_Chaeyoung muffles a laughter behind her hand and records Nayeon as she continues to describe her pizza toppings._

Mina bites her trembling bottom lip.

"You said you'll come back in ten minutes."

But she didn't.

And now she's never getting to see her again, never going to hear her talking in her sleep, never going to hear her loud voice ringing with laughter.

"Why did you lie, Nayeon-chan?" A sob breaks through her throat as her voice cracks and her heart clenches painfully. "Why?!!" She clutches at her chest with her hands as she bends over and lets the cries wreck her body.

"Why??" She wails loudly, as more tears and anguished cries begin their assault on her.

Kookeu sits with her silently.

"Let her." Momo stops Jihyo with a hand to her wrist, even as her own eyes pool with tears. "She needs to cry. She needs to let the grief out."

The seven girls huddle together as the gut wrenching sobs from Nayeon's room echo through the night, breaking their hearts in the process.


	2. Chapter 2

Mina stands in front of the bridge with the coin in her hand, a pensive look on her face. She's not the kind to believe in superstitions but she'll do just about anything to see her just one more time. To tell her how much she means to her, to ask her why she never came back, to yell at her, to fight with her and maybe hold her close one last time.

She flicks the coin into the water and watches it sink with empty eyes and blank gaze. Tzuyu joins her side as they stare at the little waves rippling in the water in the cool evening breeze. Behind them, the camera crew is packing up for the day. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah."

Mina sleeps with the bunny sweater again that night.

_"Wake up."_

_Mina stirs from her sleep confused as she stares at the endless gray in front of her. She searches for Sana who was sleeping by her side, but she's nowhere around. Just infinite grey and white mist that engulfs her._

_A tall cloaked figure appears from behind the mist, their face hidden behind a mask._

_"You made a wish." The cloaked figure states, their voice neither masculine or feminine, in a tone that's not frightening but it's not comforting either. "I'm here to grant it."_

_"I must be dreaming." Mina mutters to herself._

_"A dream of today can be reality of tomorrow." The cloaked figure utters. "Do you know how Nayeon died?"_

_Mina lets out a dry laugh. "You can make my wish a reality, but don't know how she died?"_

_The cloaked figure remains speechless for a second. Then they repeat the question. The mist around them gets stronger making it hard for Mina to see clearly._

_"An artery rupture in the heart." Her voice is meloncholic, because even saying this out loud in her dream pains her._

_"She died of a broken heart." The cloaked figure reaffirms._

_Mina nods._

_"Do you know why she had a broken heart?"_

_Mina stares at the figure for a moment. "I already told you."_

_"She had no will to live." The cloaked figure exclaims. "I had to cut her life short."_

_Mina refuses to believe it. Nayeon is always full of life, why would she have no will to live?_

_"She lingers between the light and the shadows, between heaven and earth." The cloaked figure croaks, their image begins to appear fainter and fainter as the mist grows thick around them. "Because a soul that has a last wish can not leave this world."_

_"A wish?" Mina whispers._

_"A dying wish." The cloaked figure repeats._

_"This one here grants your wish , so you can find her wish and set her free."_

_The mist is almost impenetrable in its thickness and Mina squints her eyes to have a look at the cloaked figure._

_"This one forbids you to reveal the conversation you had with me." The cloaked figure commands, "If you do so, you will cease to exist."_

_"I don't understand." Mina tries to take a step towards the cloaked figure who is slowly dissolving into the mist._

_Before the mist completely envelops the cloaked figure, it says, "To realize every dream, you have to wake up."_

"What?" Mina mumbles.

"I said wake up." A voice sound in her ears.

"Huh?"

Chaeyoung jumps on her bed and Mina's eyes open slowly.

There's no cloaked figure, it's just Chaeyoung and her. She closes her eyes back shut when the sunlight blinds her vision. Of course she's been dreaming.

"We're going to be late for our shoot." Chaeyoung whines. There's a cheerfulness in her voice that's been missing lately. "I bet ten bucks with Nayeonnie I won't be late."

Mina's eyes fly open. "What did you say?"

"I don't want to lose to Nayeonnie." Chaeyoung frowns at her. "You know she went to shoot for her subunit with Jeongyeon and Jihyo on time at 2 in the morning."

Mina almost snaps her neck turning to look at the digital clock by her bedside table. The time reads 6.00 and the date reads 1.12.2020. Exactly a month before the car crash that took away Nayeon from them. She feels dizzy and leans her hands for support on the bed. Her eyes grow wider when she realizes where she is. She is back in the room she shares with Nayeon, their beds laid adjacent to each other to make more space to move around.

And the room smells of Nayeon.

It's not faint anymore, it's gentle but strong, the smell of citrus and ocean breeze lingers and invades her senses and Mina briefly wonders if she's still dreaming.

"Tell me I'm dreaming." She mutters.

Chaeyoung pinches her side. "You're not." She chuckles when Mina yelps softly. "Hurry up, I don't want to be late."

Mina's heart begins to pound loudly in her chest when the struggle to accept the reality fades with time and a realization strikes her. She is going to see Nayeon again. Her eyes grow large when she grasps the idea in her head. She gets dressed quickly and hops in the van not wanting to waste another second to see the face she's missed for 400 days.

Mina feels like she's going to faint because the pulse in her neck is racing, her heart is beating erratically and her breath comes out in short shallow gasps. "Are you sure you're okay?" Momo throws a concerned glance at her ex girlfriend who is sitting across her in the van looking pale and shaking slightly. "We can cancel the shoot if you're coming down with something."

"I'm fine." Mina lies even as her heartbeat echoes in her ears as the studio comes into view slowly. It beats so loudly as if it wants to escape her chest and run to the older girl before her legs could take her to their destination.

"You're late." Jihyo wiggles her eyebrows at Chaeyoung who pouts petulantly. "Nayeon is going to have fun taking your money."

Mina feels another wave of dizziness come over her as the mention of her name only serves to increase her heartbeat. Beads of sweat begins to form on the sides of her face. She swallows thickly as her gaze searches for the face she has longed to see among the sea of people.

"Son Chaeyoungah." A familiar loud cheerful voice booms from behind her. "You lost."

Mina daren't move. She daren't breathe. She's frozen to the spot. She's aware of every single pounding in her heart, every single hair on her body standing to attention and the chill racing down her spine. She spins on her feet slowly, hands trembling by her side. The sound of her thrumming heart becomes intolerable as she looks into the bright eyes of Nayeon who's approaching them with a toothy smile on her dazzling face.

With every step she takes, Mina's heartbeat becomes louder and louder, breath heavier and heavier and when Nayeon finally comes to a stop in front of her and Chaeyoung, Mina lets the dizziness envelope her and succumbs to it.

\-------------------

"Wake up." Jihyo's worried voice sounds in her ears. Mina is reluctant to open her eyes because she's afraid that seeing Nayeon has only been a dream and disappointment is going to wreck her when she opens her eyes.

"Minayah." Her eyes snap open when Nayeon's low voice strike her eardrums softly.

"Nayeon-chan." She sits up slowly on the couch, coming face to face with the older girl kneeling before her on the floor.

There's worry and concern on her beautiful face and Mina feels tears welling in her eyes as she remembers seeing this face laying peaceful and quiet in the casket. Her lips quiver even as she tries to get a hold of her emotions. She extends her hands and lingers it on the older girl's cheek wanting to see if she's real and not a product of her imagination.

"Nayeon-chan." Her voice cracks as she throws her arms around the older girl's neck, falling into her for a bone crushing hug. "I missed you so much." She sobs clutching at her back, pulling her tighter into her, her heart breaking and healing at the same time at the warmth she feels in those arms and the familiar scent that embraces her senses.

"Minayah." The older girl's tone is soft and laced with concern as she pulls back lightly to take a look at her face. The warmth and affection she sees in those dark eyes only breaks her heart even more and Mina sobs openly, hands resting on her chest, feeling Nayeon's heartbeat, face buried in the crook of her neck as torrent of tears pour down her face.

Because for four hundred days she's lived without seeing these eyes that radiated warmth and affection. A four hundred days she's going to have relive at the end of thirty one days she's been given to find her last wish.

"It's okay." Nayeon whispers into her hair, her arms tight and comforting around her back. "I'm here."

Mina nods as more tears threaten to well at those words. Their manager suggests they take the day off. Mina steps away from Nayeon after her initial breakdown, she doesn't want to confuse her by being physically affectionate. Mina has always been a shy person and it's hard for her to show physical affection, especially with Nayeon because the older girl is so well put together, gorgeous and funny and everyone seems to be a bit in love with her and even though they've spent years together, her introverted self still feels a little intimated by the perfection that is Nayeon.

She doesn't want to set any alarm bells going off in Nayeon's head by changing her behaviour around her a complete 180. So even though the yearning to be with her and in her arms is overwhelming, she settles to just looking at her to her heart's content from afar. She replays the words with the cloaked figure when she's sleeping in her bed that night.

 _How do I find her last wish?_ Mina thinks to herself, she doesn't want Nayeon to linger between the two worlds when the inevitable happens in thirty one days.

"No." Nayeon talks in her sleep. Mina turns to her side and glances at her with soft eyes. She's missed this sleep talk for a really long time. "No candies in my pocket."

Mina's heart swells and squeezes painfully at the same time. Why should life be so cruel? Why should someone so innocent and pure be snatched away from this world so young? Why doesn't she have the power to stop it from happening? She takes a deep breath, not wanting to cry. Her eyes glisten with tears as she resists the urge to cup the older girl's cheek. Her heart melts a little when she sees that Nayeon is drooling slightly. A smile sits upon her lips and she wipes the corner of the older girl's mouth with the sleeves of her long night shirt.

Her heart completely melts and sits like a gooey puddle in its chest when Nayeon catches her wrist in her sleep with both her hands and nuzzles her face into her hand. She pulls her hand away gently after a while, the deep and slow breaths showing that Nayeon is fast asleep. She doesn't want to close her eyes, preferring to stare at the face she's missed for four hundred painfully long days.

When a distant thunder rumbles, Nayeon who's terrified of thunderstorms rolls over to her bed like she sometimes does unconsciously, burying her face into her collarbone. Mina has to force back another set of fresh tears when she feels her heart beat against hers.

_We tried all we can. We can't resuscitate her heart._

She remembers the quiet way the words were uttered. She remembers sitting on the hard plastic chair hoping against hope they made a mistake and Nayeon is safe and alive.

Mina cuts off her thoughts from going down that path, afraid she'll wake up the older girl if she lets the sobs overtake her body. Instead, she intakes another deep breath and loops an arm behind Nayeon's back. Another hand locks around her neck, threading through her short dark hair. She sighs softly when Nayeon throws an arm around her waist and snuggles into her chest as another thunder echoes through the night.

Her eyes drift close and she sleeps light for the first time in a long time.


	3. Chapter 3

Mina's eyes lingers on Nayeon in between the takes. She takes them away just as the older girl is about to look her way.

"You've been staring at Nayeon-chan the whole day." Sana tells her after they pack up their shoot.

How can she tell Sana that she won't get to do that after twenty nine days? Nobody is going to believe her anyway. Besides, its not like she's allowed to tell the truth.

"I wasn't." She denies.

"I don't blame you." Sana winks at her after raking her eyes up and down Nayeon's body, "She looks hot in that suit."

Mina glances to her left and takes another proper look. She's always known Nayeon is good looking, but she never really paid any attention to it.

"You're definitely checking her out." Mina blushes faintly when Sana bumps her shoulders.

She cooks dinner for the girls with Jeongyeon and Momo. She stirs the sauce in the pan absentmindedly, her head swimming with heavy thoughts.

"I wish I could get into her head sometimes." Momo walks into the kitchen, pointing at someone behind her shoulder. Nayeon sits on the balcony chair, either watching or counting the stars with her shiny eyes. "Like one second she's running around the house with so much energy and another second she sits that there like she wasn't causing chaos before."

Mina wonders how she hasn't noticed this before. They know sometimes Nayeon wants her personal space but for the first time she notices the flicker of sadness behind those bright eyes and bunny smile as she steps into the balcony with a mug of coffee in her hand. She watches the stars in companionable silence with her for a while, the night breeze caressing their faces gently from time to time.

"Do you know stars are the souls of dead people?" Nayeon whispers, her eyes still lingering on a distant shiny star. "They say when someone dies they become a new star in the sky."

Mina lets out a soft breath. Her eyes downcast to the liquid in the mug.

"Apparently if you're lucky enough to live in someone's heart even after you've gone, you'll be up there shining down upon them." Nayeon points at the glimmering stars with a small smile playing on the corner of her lips.

The coffee refuses to go down her throat as it constricts with pain. This conversation is too raw, painful and brutally reminds her of what's going to come. "I don't believe in all that." Mina swallows thickly, blinking back the tears in her eyes as her heart twists painfully knowing the destiny written for the older girl.

Nayeon stays quiet for sometime. "I don't believe I'll be up there either." She picks herself off the chair and whispers a goodnight to Mina before shutting the door softly behind her.

Mina plays her words around in her mind, a sad laughter of disbelief leaves her lips when she understands them. Nayeon actually thinks she's forgettable, if it was that easy Mina wouldn't have spent an year in agonizing pain, wanting to bend time and fate only to have her back, if only for a moment.

She replays what the cloaked figure said to her as she glances at the sleeping girl's face.

_She died of a broken heart._

Does she have to take it literally or is there some deeper meaning to them?

Nayeon sighs in her sleep and Mina resists the urge to stroke her face. She continues to look at her until she feels her own eyelids grow heavy and drifts off to sleep.

She sneaks glances at the older girl often again when they play truth or dare in the dorm after another long day of shoot. She's been here before and she knows the question that was going to be aimed at her very well.

"Mina," Momo begins with a cheeky smile, "What is love to you?" Despite knowing what's coming, the question still throws her off a bit. She's a very private person and this is not the kind of question she'd want to answer in the open. "I have no idea." She answers honestly. "You'd just know when you're with the right person I guess."

Momo slaps a hand to her face dramatically and sighs, "You hurt my feelings Minari."

Mina chuckles and swats at her arm playfully.

"You guys are so unromantic." Sana glances up at the roof wistfully. "I want to hear violins playing in the background, bells chiming over my head, fireworks going off behind my eyes, an explosion of butterflies in my stomach when I kiss the person I'm meant to be with."

"Do you want to try it?" Dahyun wiggles her brow at Sana and leans into her pouting her lips into a kiss. Sana laughs and pushes her away with a hand to her chest.

Mina thinks these happens only in films. It's not unromantic to have realistic expectations of relationships. Through the corner of her eyes, she watches Nayeon biting her lips with a pensive look on her face. She wonders how she's missed the solemn look gracing the older girl's face when they played this before.

She knows the answer to her own question, back then her eyes weren't always focused on Nayeon and now she is the only thing she sees.

\----------------

Time is slipping through her fingers hard and fast and Mina still doesn't know how to find what Nayeon would have wished for as she laid there taking her last breath. Tears prickles her eyes when she thinks about her last moment, was she petrified? Did it hurt? Why does she have to go through it again? Is there nothing she can do to stop it?

From the balcony, She sees Nayeon going for her walk with Kookeu. Something inside her tells her to join them, so she slips on her coat and hurries down the stairs but they're nowhere to be seen when she gets to the car park. It doesn't matter, she knows where they go for their daily walks at night. She treads down the darkened path that leads to the small park next to their apartment complex.

The moonlight illuminates the narrow ground between the tall trees and she comes to a stop when she sees Nayeon sitting on a small rock that overlooks the pond. Her hand lays over a soft spot on the ground as she strokes the sodden earth tenderly. Kookeu runs around her, wagging his tail excitedly whenever she picks a wooden stick and throws it to a distance.

The sight before her calms the stormy thoughts in her head. She almost takes a foot forward but freezes when something dawns on her. Nayeon's hand lingers on the spot that Kookeu always barked at.

"Do you come here often?" Nayeon turns around and gives her a bright smile at the sound of her teasing voice.

She gets off the ground, dusting the back of her trousers and waits for Mina to join her side.

Nayeon leans in and whispers conspiratorially in her ears. "Yes, because they tell me a beautiful girl sometimes comes here late at night."

Mina chuckles because she's sure Nayeon is talking about herself, again. "Does she wear a white bugs bunny jumper, blue jeans and a red beanie by any chance?" She jokes.

Nayeon tilts her head to a side and taps a finger to her chin. "Nope, she wears a mustard sweater under a comfy white woolen coat."

Mina's cheeks dust a pretty pink as she looks at herself. She'll never get used to receiving compliments, especially ones that's thrown at her with twinkling eyes and an endearing grin.

"I'm going to head home." Nayeon announces as she stretches slowly under the moonlight.

"I'm going to stay here for a while." Mina sits on the spot Nayeon has previously occupied. "Goodnight."

"Don't be too long." Nayeon waves a finger at her. "You'll have to wake me up in the morning."

A lump forms in her throat as a memory of her asking Nayeon to wake up to only get a deathly silence in return flashes before her eyes. She nods her head solemnly. She stares at the water glimmering under the soft light of the moon. A white flower falling on the spot Nayeon was resting her hands on catches her attention. She picks up a stick and digs the earth absent mindedly for a while, her gaze lost in the water.

The sound of the stick scraping against a metal snaps her thoughts away and she looks to her side curiously. A metal surface shines behind the sand and dirt covering it. She digs around the metal and retrieves it in her shaking hands.

It's a time capsule. She opens it with a little struggle and a note falls from it.

_I love you. I wish I could work the courage to tell you this someday._

There's no signature , but the handwriting is unmistakeable.

Nayeon has written it.

Her heart begins to slowly pound and her fingers tremble lightly as she puts the letter back in the capsule and buries it back in the earth. Was Kookeu trying to show her this all this while? Is this what the cloaked figure was talking about?

_Nayeon is in love with someone._

Her mind process the words on the letter again and again trying to make sense out of it.

_She died of a broken heart._

Was Nayeon thinking of this person as she took her last breath? Did she never get around to tell them how she felt? Her heart aches a little because none of them have seen past the walls the older girl has built around her. Nobody has been with her taking those walls down brick by brick and show her what friendships meant.

Mina's eyes shift to the water again and becomes glazed with a glassy layer of tears. Nayeon has suffered alone and they let her, they let her alone with her suffering even as she took her last breath. The tears flow down her cheeks and dips from her chin. She's too sad to cry out or wail, she sits there as still as a statue while the magnitude of Nayeon's pain sweeps over her.

_She died of a broken heart._

The words echo cruelly in her ears.

_I love you. I wish I could work the courage to tell you this someday._

Her heart aches to soothe the pain the older girl is feeling, must have felt in her last moment.

_Because a soul that has a last wish can not leave this world._

Mina finally knows the purpose of her being taken back in time.

She needs to find this person and let them know how Nayeon feels about them.

That's the only way she's going to set her soul free.


	4. Chapter 4

Mina climbs up the stairs and walks to the dorm, suffocated by her own gloomy thoughts. She hears music coming from behind the doors and it only grows louder as she steps inside the dorm and approaches the bedroom.

Nayeon is jumping on her bed, a smile so gleeful like that of a child on Christmas morning, dancing to a song playing on the radio. Mina knows of the pain and suffering behind those smiles and warm eyes. When Nayeon turns around and finds Mina staring at her from the door, she extends an arm asking her to join in the impromptu dance duet.

Any other time Mina would have said no, but she is walking towards the bed and Nayeon's eyes become that much brighter as she takes the extended arm and tugs the older girl down to the floor to her level.

_1 2 3 take my hand and come with me_   
_Because you look so fine that I really wanna make you mine_

Mina laughs as Nayeon spins her around and narrowly misses squishing her foot under her own. She smiles her gummy smile brightly as her heels glide down the wooden floor, blonde hair spinning as she twirls and turns and bounces holding Nayeon's hand with each move and beat.

_Big black boots_   
_Long brown hair_   
_She's so sweet with her_   
_Get back stare_

Mina puts a hand on her chest and throws her head back laughing because Nayeon has changed the words to long blonde hair and is pointing at her with her hands. They continue to dance and spin until the music comes to a slow stop and Mina finds herself in Nayeon's arms, trying to catch her breath. She gazes up at the lights reflecting in the older girl's eyes as she laughs at her breathless state, a laughter so free and pure despite her adult ears, and Mina finds herself join in such generous mirth.

When the laughter dies down, Mina finds herself continuing to look at those haunting eyes that burns bright with life. Words leave her as she feels those eyes stare back at her, searching hers for something. Those warm orbs sparkle at her speaking in a language that she has heard, but can't seem to understand. Mina searches her mind for something to say, but to her surprise her heart answers for her. "Saranghae Nayeon-chan."

She sees those eyes that are dancing with amusement soften around the edges and for a blissful moment a silence caresses them both like a cool summer breeze, soothing their souls. "Saranghae, Minaya."

They break apart when they hear a round of applause coming from he door.

"Minayeon subunit when?" Chaeyoung and Sana ask. When What is Love comes on the radio they step into their routine breaking into another dance, and the other girls pour into the room drawn by the chaos and noise and join them, the joyful laughter in the room taking Mina's mind off the inevitable.

"Did I talk in my sleep again?" Nayeon's voice is hoarse and thick with sleep when she catches Mina glancing at her as she rolls over to her side. Mina shakes her head negatively brushing a loose strand of dark hair on the older girl's face with a delicate finger. "Go to sleep Minaya." Nayeon whispers another soft goodnight as her eyes flutter shut.

Mina spends another night memorizing every inch of her face.

"Do you think Nayeon loves anybody?" She hesitantly queries Jeongyeon who's taking a bite of her sandwich.

"You mean other than herself?" She chuckles between the bites, "No, I don't think so."

Mina deflates dejectedly. She only has twenty six days left to find out this mysterious person. Jeongyeon is the person closest to Nayeon, if she doesn't know who it is, then her very own chances are very grim.

Nayeon is afraid of the dark, the thought she's going to be stuck in between the two worlds, in the shadows, alone and afraid, makes her heart ache with renewed pain.

"Why did you both breakup?" The question sets her off balance affecting her calm composure.

She remembers the answer she told Nayeon in the past, it didn't work, but this time she goes with the truth. "Because we didn't love each other."

Nayeon glances at a spot near her feet on the floor of their living room. "Why did you say yes to her when she asked you out?"

"I thought that was my only chance at love." Mina admits honestly, feeling a little vulnerable. "I was scared of ending up alone."

Nayeon nods and squeezes her hands. "I'm scared of that too."

Mina's heart breaks again knowing that's exactly how Nayeon's life is going to end.

\---------------

Mina strides away from the older girl as she can't bring herself to see her hurt. It's just a little scrape of the knee she got during the rehearsals, but it's enough to remind her of the impending gloom. No matter how much she wants to be by her side, holding her hands and asking her-begging her to be careful, she knows she is not allowed to do that, she knows she is powerless in the face of destiny.

She stares at the cars rushing on the streets outside the studio. But her mind is somewhere else, on Nayeon, and all the things she could do different to cherish every moment she has left with her. But above all, she wants to find the person who has broken her heart. She wants to yell at them, ask them why they took something so precious and left shattered pieces behind.

"Get it yourself Nayeonnie, your knee is scraped, not your hands." Tzuyu looks Nayeon up and down as she drawls.

"It's all the way across the table." Nayeon drops the last three words into a childish grumble.

Mina picks up the pepper shaker and saunters over to where the older is slumped over on the chair around the dining table, staring at her plate like if she looked enough the pepper is going to magically appear on top of her food. "Here you are, Nayeon-chan."

Nayeon smiles brightly.

"Mina is too nice." Chaeyoung says, putting away her napkin on the side after wiping her mouth.

"That's why I asked her out." Momo remarks and there's a hint of smile in her voice.

Mina looks down at her own plate, feeling her cheeks heat up.

"Then you both broke up too." Sana's gaze flickers between Momo and Mina.

Momo puts her hands up defensively. "Some people are better off as friends." She puts the fork down on her tray. "At times she feels like a sister to me."

"Ewww." Tzuyu and Dahyun chorus.

Mina laughs because she sometimes feels that way too. She looks across at Nayeon who's suddenly grown quiet, fidgeting with the chopsticks in her hand.

The next two days passes by in a blur and Mina is not sure how she missed these obvious signs the first time around. Nayeon is ignoring her and her past self had probably been oblivious to it, but this time she's all too well aware of it. Mina draws in a breath and feels like she's been punched in the gut because even though Nayeon talks to her, and to normal eyes things are perfectly fine between them as they've never spoken much to each other anyway, she knows the older girl is going out of her way to avoid interaction with her.

"I'm sorry." The words fall out of her mouth before she can think them through. "Whatever I did, I'm sorry."

Nayeon shakes her head and side steps her.

Mina stays in her spot, head hung low, staring at the floor. She thinks the older girl is gone because for sometime it's just her and the deafening silence around her that keeps her company. Then, a low hesitant voice sounds from behind her. "It's not you, it's me."

Mina lets out a small laugh, tainted with sadness as she turns around and lets the dark eyes settle on her. "Why do you sound like you're breaking up with me?"

For a moment Nayeon doesn't say anything, and then she bites her bottom lips to hold back a grin that's growing on her face, and when the sound of her loud laughter hits Mina's ears, her heart soars within its confines.

"I'm a dick." Nayeon approaches her with an openness in her eyes, lips still holding the reminiscence of a smile.

Mina realizes they must look silly and strange standing in the middle of the dance studio while the other girls on a break, but she doesn't move back and neither does Nayeon and they are both gazing into each other eyes for a long moment, not a word spoken by either of them.

"You kind of are." Mina draws in a shaky breath, trying to dissolve the thickening silence around them.

Nayeon gasps in a breath, pretending to be shocked.

Mina stares at her fondly as the older girl doubles over in laughter, her face changing into a vision of joy and mirth, like all of the world's problems can be cured if you were around her for a couple of minutes.

And then she's laughing too.


	5. Chapter 5

"I swear to god, if you don't stop moving I'm going to kick your arse." Jeongyeon covers the mic with a hand and warns Nayeon in an irritated voice, a fake smile plastered across her face.

Mina jerks her eyes to the pair of them. Nayeon is practically vibrating with energy that has her bouncing on her seat since the conference started. "Ouch." She hears Nayeon whine quietly, reaching down and rubbing her abused feet. "What the fuck bro?"

"Told you." Jeongyeon shrugs unapologetically.

Mina takes the older girl's hand in hers and rubs circles on it until she feels her hyperactive energy calming down a little.

"I ate too many marshmallows." Nayeon sheepishly offers an explanation.

A fond smile dances over Mina's full lips. "I know." She squeezes the older girl's hands that fully envelopes hers under the table. "I made them for you." She doesn't let go off her hand for the rest of the conference.

Mina only has three weeks left until the doom day. The clock is ticking fast but she hasn't made any progress on finding the mysterious man or woman, whoever that has the older girl's heart.

A faint hint of irritation gnaws at her heart.

"I love you." Nayeon tells Kookeu, who snuggles by her feet.

"You're a coward Nayeon-chan." Mina mutters under her breath. The annoyance has grown and multiplied over the day. Nayeon quirks up an eyebrow, probably wondering why she is picking up an argument with her. 

It's not like they never fight, they have their fair share of arguments from time to time and she is always the one who snaps at the older girl first, because Nayeon is too playful and doesn't take her seriously like the time they went on a vlive and everyone said they didn't hear her speak. For some reason, she snapped at Nayeon that day.

"Who saved you from the spider in the bathroom Minayah?" Nayeon gives her a cheeky grin, and she finds her irritation grow because the older girl is smiling when she's dreading the end of three weeks, hurting every second because she'll never get to see this stupid smile again after that.

Nayeon is here, within her arms reach, alive and tangible, playful and happy, like nothing can touch her, blissfully unaware of her fate. She's the one who's going to have to learn to live in a world without her again. She knows that it's illogical to get angry at Nayeon for the destiny that's been written for her but she still does.

"You know what, I'm done talking to you." She snaps. "Go for some stupid karaoke or cafe you love to go alone. Who cares about the people you leave behind?!!"

Chaeyoung and Momo stop slurping their noodles and share awkward glances between themselves.

Tzuyu and Jeongyeon pretend they haven't seen anything.

Dahyun doesn't care, she knows their arguments never last.

Sana and Jihyo look at Nayeon accusingly.

Mina stomps to her room, leaving her pot of noodles untouched, shutting the door behind her fully well aware of the twinkle she sees in the dark eyes that follows her as she struts out of the living room.

Only death managed to take that twinkle away.

She cries herself to sleep that night.

"Minayah." She feels a gentle touch on her shoulder. "Minari." Fingers softly brush the blonde hairs that sticking to her face. "Wake up."

Mina stirs from her sleep, her eyes fluttering open. "Nayeon-chan?" She creases her brows in confusion. She slowly wills herself to wake up as the image before her coming to focus. She sees Nayeon sitting at the edge of her bed with a bowl of ramen soup in her hand.

"You get hungry in the middle of the night if you go to bed on an empty stomach." Nayeon doesn't wait for her to reply. She pulls her to a sitting position on the bed, and begins to feed her.

Mina doesn't have any fight left in her, besides it's not like she's mad at Nayeon, she's mad at the situation. She's mad at things that are beyond their control.

"I'm heading out to the corner store." Nayeon tells her as she puts the chopsticks back into the empty bowl and passes her a glass of water to wash down the food in her throat. It's a thoughtful and sweet gesture it makes Mina ache a little bit more. "I have a late night snack craving."

"I'll go with you." Mina puts her feet down on the floor.

Nayeon glances at her softly. "Are you not sleepy?"

Mina gets up to meet her eye level. "I am." She links their hands together. "But I want to go with you." Her heart becomes a puddle when she sees the brilliant smile she gets in return.

"Thank you."

That night, Mina sleeps unaware of how Nayeon is the one staring at her when she sleeps.

\---------------

Mina walks quietly down the halls of the studio and stops when she hears Nayeon's laughter ring through the dressing room. She steps into the room without batting an eyelid past where the older girl is making conversation with their assistant. She has one hand on her hip, another often tucking loose strands of hair behind her ears, a tiny smile quirking up the corner of lips and stands way too close to the tall guy who's throwing flirtatious glances at her.

She's never liked this guy for some reason, and dreads to think that this might be Nayeon's mysterious person. "What's with the face?" She hears Dahyun ask her as Nayeon steps out the dressing room with the assistant, completely oblivious to their presence.

"Nothing." She dismisses, scowling at the sight of their shoulders slightly brushing together.

Dahyun's eyes follow her line of vision. "It's him again." She chuckles. "That explains the face."

Mina turns to her side and lifts up a brow in question intrigued at Dahyun's statement.

"It's just that, you've never seemed too fond of Hei." Dahyun tells her honestly.

"His name is Hei?" Mina asks, her voice disgruntled. She's just always called him by his last name.

Dahyun laughs boisterously. "See, that's what I'm talking about." She leans back on the chair in the dressing room and settles comfortably. "He's not a bad guy, you know?"

"He laughs too loud." Mina remarks.

"Nayeonnie laughs too loud too." Dahyun deadpans. She can't help but smile at the mild irritation on Mina's face.

"He acts like he's the hottest guy in the world." Mina continues.

"Nayeonnie does that too." Dahyun states simply and then laughs, "Like she's the hottest girl alive."

Mina lifts her shoulder in a shrug. "She's allowed to."

Dahyun shakes her head, and mimes zipping her lips together in surrender.

Mina has a hard time reminding herself she's here to fulfil Nayeon's last wish as she watches Hei whisper something in Nayeon's ears during the break. Hei is easy on the eyes, well built, probably a year younger than Nayeon, and then she frowns because she suddenly remembers that Jeongyeon described that as the older girl's type.

"You can do this." She reassures herself under her breath, as she corners Nayeon in the kitchen after the shoot. "Do you like Hei?"

"Excuse me?" The older girl chokes on the water she's sipping.

Mina pats her back a little too strongly. "He's your type." She's started the conversation, now she has to finish it, irrespective of how much she doesn't want him to be the person Nayeon is in love with.

"What's my type Minayah?" The older girl's eyes are smiling and Mina wants to slap it off her face.

She pauses a little before responding. "Younger and buff." She whispers.

"Younger and fit." Nayeon slants her head and looks at her for a long second. "You got that much right."

"I won't hesitate to slap you if you continue laughing at me." She sulks.

Nayeon throws her hands up defensively. "Hey!! I'm not even laughing!"

"Your eyes are." She mumbles under her breath.

She sees Nayeon biting her lips to try and control the urge to let out a smile. "How can eyes laugh Minaya?"

"Yours do." She grumbles as she shoves the older girl away from her with a hand and opens the door of the fridge to get some milk. "You get those little crinkles around the corner of your eyes when you're smiling inside." She doesn't mean to say the last sentence out loud but it's out there and there's nothing she can do.

There's a silence for a while, Mina shuts the door close and takes a step forward towards the stove with the carton of milk in her hand. She comes to an abrupt stop because Nayeon is in front of her, impossibly closer than she had expected. The smile on the older girl's face is gone, in its place there is a seriousness which she doesn't normally show. "I don't like Hei."

"But you like someone else?" Mina whispers.

"Myself." The irritating smile is back.

"Liar." Mina breathes out, searching out Nayeon's face as their eyes lock together. "You are a coward and a liar."

The smile grows wider.

Mina thinks she might kill Nayeon before the end of eighteen days.


	6. Chapter 6

The rare day off is about relaxing and spending time with the girls, but Mina is drowning in self pity because she's miserably failing in the mission given to her. The clock is ticking fast but she's getting nowhere in finding the mysterious person. For a second, she contemplates asking Nayeon's mother but she doesn't know how she's going to explain the random question away.

Besides she's sure Nayeon's mother doesn't know the person, because after the crash she gave Kookeu to her when she could have easily given him to the person that Nayeon loved.

"Nayeon, what the fuck!" Jihyo's angry voice snaps her out of her thoughts. "I told you the knife is sharp and I'll take care of the vegetables."

"It's kind of your fault for leaving sharp objects lying around when you know there's a baby in the house." She hears Tzuyu remark.

Mina scrambles to the living room where the voices are coming from and her heart picks up its pace when she sees blood trickling down the older girl's finger. She remembers this happening before and vividly recalls how she sat around helplessly, watching Jihyo bandage Nayeon's wound. Even though the memory is familiar, she still feels the same panic in her chest.

The dark color of the blood reminds her of Nayeon's numbered days. She chokes, struggling to breathe through her tears.

Everything about this second chance with Nayeon is a lie, because the fate can't be avoided, she's just an insignificant piece in solving the puzzle about her dying wish. The death itself, however, is going to happen.

She feels nauseous, sick in her stomach, in her chest, but pushes her legs forward to the living room and watches Jihyo apply pressure to the wound.

By the end of the day, her mind is set and her purpose becomes clearer. She feels determined that she's going to find the person no matter what. She might be insignificant, powerless in the face of destiny, but there's one thing she can do for Nayeon, that is fulfilling her last wish.

She goes to bed, her heart heavy and stomach churning. She rolls around to her side and watches the low rise and fall of Nayeon's chest as she sleeps peacefully.

She remembers how she lay lifelessly in the hospital bed, the soft breaths she usually take cruelly stolen by death.

She feels an overwhelming need to be closer to the older girl, and shuffles quietly to her bed, wrapping arms around her neck and lays a fluttering kiss on her forehead. She pulls back after a while and glances softly at her. Nayeon scrunches her nose and scratches her cheek in sleep. It's so endearing that it makes her momentarily forget the dark thoughts in her head and smile. She tucks a loose hair behind her ears and lays another gentle kiss on the scrunched nose. Her hands stroke down her hair and come to a natural stop on either side of Nayeon's face.

She caresses her cheek and sees the older girl softly sighing into the touch, her perfect lips jutting out in a pout. Before she knows what she's doing, she finds herself leaning in to claim them.

"What the hell!!" She lets out a gasp as she quickly pulls away, moving back to her bed, in absolute shock over the realization of what she was just about to do. "What in the fucking hell!!" It's uncharacteristic of her to swear, but the situation is so strange that she thinks it demands a little swearing.

"Minayah," Nayeon mumbles in her sleep, stirring at the noise she hears. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing!!!" She stutters, "I think I left my phone in the living room."

"Okay." The older girl mutters and rolls around to sleep on her stomach.

Mina throws her feet softly on the floor and steps out of the bedroom, as quickly as she can, away from Nayeon. She goes to the kitchen and fills a glass of water, drinking it down in one huge gulp. "What made me do that?!" She asks herself out loud.

She assumes that being close to Nayeon, knowing she's about to lose her is probably messing with her head. There's no way her action means anything else. Her parents used to peck her on the lips when she was a child, so it's natural of her to think of that as a way of showing affection. Besides, it's not her fault the older girl looks like a child when she sleeps.

She takes a deep breath and makes her way back towards the bedroom because it's three in the morning and she needs to sleep at least for a while as they have a long day tomorrow. Luckily for her, Nayeon is sleeping on her side now, completely facing away from her. She breathes a sigh of relief. She stays close to the corner of her bed, facing the wall and avoids looking at Nayeon so that she can finally get some sleep.

Slowly but surely she feels her eyelids grow heavy and is about to drift off to sleep when she feels the mattress dip by her side and Nayeon's hand glides down her middle, her body pressing against her back as she snuggles into her.

She doesn't get any sleep until the next morning.

\----------------------

Mina untangles herself from Nayeon and makes her way to the kitchen. She makes some coffee and sits down on the couch in the living room. She doesn't understand what possessed her last night to act out of character. With morning, comes clearer thoughts.

She is sure she's not attracted to Nayeon. She's only ever seen her as a friend. She tries to convinces herself that last night her head had been all over the place and the emotions got the better of her, leading to a momentary lapse of judgement. She's almost successful at convincing until she hears a sleepy voice say good morning.

She turns to see Nayeon languidly stretching at the door. Her oversized t-shirt slightly rides up to reveal smooth skin on her flat stomach, her short wavy hair is mussed up a little and she looks so beautiful, even if she has just gotten out of bed.

"What are you drinking?" Nayeon doesn't wait for an answer, instead slumps down on the couch next to her, leans slightly into her side and grabs the mug from her hand. She sees her wince as the bitter taste of coffee hits her mouth. "I hate coffee." She puts the mug down in front of them on the table, her face a little close to hers as she leans back to rest against the couch.

Mina's eyes flicker down to the plump heart shaped lips, wet and shiny, from the coffee she's sipped. The urge to press her own lips against them crashes upon her, this time a lot more intensely. She moves back, too quickly and abruptly, knocking the mug on the table over accidentally.

"I'm going to get this mess cleaned up." She stands up swiftly on her feet, ready to bolt.

"I'll help you." Nayeon offers.

Mina shakes her head and blurts, "I'll manage."

Nayeon thrusts her lower lip out in a pout.

Mina's eyes flicker back to those damn lips and her stomach flip flops and twists before bottoming out. She feels a little annoyed because Nayeon needs to stop drawing attention to her lips, if she doesn't Mina is sure she's going to do something she'll regret. "Can you stop pouting like that?!" She grumbles loudly, shakes her head exasperatedly and leaves the room ignoring the amused expression on the older girl.

The day is long and busy and it keeps her occupied. Nayeon keeps her distance after her random outburst and things are a little awkward between them. Mina thinks maybe it's better this way as she can focus on the purpose of why she was sent back here to the past.

Nayeon gets a call later that night. Mina watches as her face crumbles, the light in her eyes dulling, and when their eyes meet across the room for a moment, she wants to hold her close and tell her she has nothing to worry about. Her heart twists with pain because she knows Nayeon's mother is going to outlive her.

She remembers the older girl's mother telling her after the funeral, in a voice full of despair and grief, _"One thing a mother should never go through is have their child go before them."_

She thinks back to how she held Nayeon's mother in her arms, and let her tears drip down the front of her shirt, her own tears falling to the top of the older woman's head. 

"Mum is sick. I need to go see her." Nayeon mutters under her breath, breaking their gaze and looking at the other girls in the studio. 

"What's wrong?" Jeongyeon asks. 

Nayeon looks down at her feet and lifts her shoulder. "They found a lump in her breast."

Mina swallows a lump in her throat and feels a bought of tears coming. She knows what's coming next, Nayeon is going to spend the next two days with her mother. And twelve days later, the inevitable is going to happen. The clock is ticking too fast, she's running out of time quickly. 

She spends the next couple of days in a daze, until the older girl comes back with a goofy grin and a Tupperware full of Mina's favourite food made by Nayeon's mother. "Turns out it's non malignant." She hears her squeal. 

Mina smiles despite herself when Nayeon picks up Tzuyu in her arms and spins her around happily, her laughter light, airy and free. 


	7. Chapter 7

"What did your mother say?" She hears Jeongyeon ask the older girl as they make conversation in the balcony.

"The first day was horrible. She was being so dramatic." Nayeon chuckles, "She even told me the list of things she should give to people if she were to pass away."

Jeongyeon gasps, "She must have been really worried!"

"Yeah," Nayeon continues in a soft voice, "So I told her that she should give Kookeu to the love of my life if something had to happen to me before her."

"Who would that be?" Mina trains her ears hard to hear the answer.

"That would be you my love." Nayeon cackles, as she tries to reach a disgusted Jeongyeon and plant a kiss on her cheeks.

Mina deflates. If Jeongyeon is the one, Nayeon's mother wouldn't have given Kookeu to her. This only meant one thing, that Nayeon didn't have the courage to confess who she is in love with even to her own mother. A sudden thought comes across her head and she balks. Is Nayeon in love with someone off limits, someone already in a relationship or worse, married? Is that why she is ashamed to admit who they are even to her own mother?

Her questions are answered that night when she sees Nayeon walking Kookeu to the park. She sees her stop near the entrance and make conversation with Seo, their neighbor. They look way too friendly and Seo often strokes Nayeon's arms up and down as they talk.

"Out of all people, her?" Mina wonders out loud.

Seo is a nice girl, that's not the problem, but how's Mina supposed to tell her that Nayeon is in love with her when the girl is married with two kids?

"Did you have to go and fall for a married woman?" Mina slaps a hand to her face and groans. She looks up skywards and wonders what kind of twisted game the gods are playing with her. When Nayeon comes back from her walk, her mood is sour.

"Stop stealing from my plate." Dahyun shoves Nayeon's hand away as she tries to grab a bite of whatever she's eating. Nayeon gives up and turns her attention to Mina's plate. Mina knows she's an easy target because she always offers her food whereas the other girls protect theirs from Nayeon.

Not today. "Stop stealing other people's things Nayeon-chan." Mina says harshly.

Everyone in the room stills, because Mina has never refused Nayeon food.

Nayeon smiles her toothy smile, unbothered by her rudeness. "It's tastier when it belongs to someone else."

Mina rolls her eyes and dumps the plate in front of her. "Here, have the whole thing."

Nayeon makes a show of slurping the food loudly and slowly, enjoying every bite.

"Nayeon give back her food." Jihyo demands.

"She asked me to have it." Nayeon grins playfully.

"It's like living with a married couple." Sana snorts, "You don't fight often but when you do it's actually cute."

Nayeon stops eating because she's choking on her food.

Mina blushes in embarrassment.

When she steps into the bedroom later that night she hears Nayeon talking to someone.

"Do you think I'm pretty?"

Is she talking to Seo? Mina squashes the thought because she remembers Nayeon never got around to telling her how she felt. She hears an excited bark.

"Thank you, at least you think I'm pretty."

When Mina opens the door completely, she forgets that she's mad at the older girl, and gazes at her with a doting smile on her face because Nayeon is talking to Kookeu who's wagging his tail at her.

"When I asked him, he was just rude and quiet." Nayeon pouts and points at her teddy bear.

Mina's heart melts into a puddle. She clears her throat to make the older girl aware of her presence. There's a brief silence when their eyes meet and even though Mina can think of a million different things to say because she's on borrowed time with Nayeon, she remains quiet.

It's a little awkward, but conversations between them has always been either playful or awkward. There has never been an in between.

"Why are we fighting?" Nayeon grins.

"Because you never take anything seriously." Mina mutters.

"I might be playful Minayah." Nayeon stands up and walks towards where she is, stopping a little away from her. Her gaze is somewhere around her feet, as she intakes a deep breath and says, "But I do take you seriously." She sounds so honest and vulnerable and Mina has never seen her show this side to anyone, let alone her, that she finds herself moving forward, wrapping her arms around Nayeon's neck.

She hears Nayeon lets out a soft gasp of surprise at first, then sighs softly and wraps her arms around her back returning the hug.

Mina knows in a few days her world is going to be toppled upside down, but in that moment, in Nayeon's arms, everything in the world seems to be right.

\-------------

Mina nibbles at her fingernails tired of the bickering going around her. "Why do you always suspect me?" Nayeon says innocently, a smirk hidden behind her heart shaped lips. "I didn't take your phone."

Mina hears Momo growl at the answer, her face twisting in thought. She steps closer to Nayeon and whines, "I swear to god Nayeon-chan, if I didn't like you so much I'd have killed you by now."

"Momo, your phone is under your bed." Mina mutters, taking a protective stance in front of Nayeon. She watches Momo tiptoe into her room and hears her yelling out a hurray when she finds her phone.

Nayeon bites her lips pensively and leans down to whisper in Mina's ears. "How did you know I hid it there?"

There's a shiver running down her spine and goosebumps prickling her neck at the proximity of the older girl but Mina hides it well. "That's the last place Momo is going to look." She angles her body slightly away from Nayeon and turns to look at her. "You and I know how her mind works."

 _And how your mind works._ Her brain supplies helpfully.

She sees the older girl's eyebrows slant in muted surprise, jaw working back and forth as she processes the information. Mina's eyes runs along the contour of her jaw, at how well defined it looks under the soft light in the living room from certain angles. Her fingers itch to touch the skin there.

She takes another step back to put more space between herself and Nayeon.

"Did y'all know Seo is getting a divorce?" Sana slams the front door shut, drawing their attention.

"Really?" Jihyo queries, taking her eyes away from the television screen. "I thought they got along really well."

Mina joins her side on the couch, folding her legs under her. She wonders how she's forgotten this little tidbit.

"Getting along really well isn't enough." Nayeon slides to sit between Jeongyeon and Dahyun.

"Why isn't it enough?." Jeongyeon scoots over to her left because Nayeon is sitting almost on top of her. "An understanding relationship lasts long normally."

Mina mulls over the words. She thinks back to the time she dated Momo, they understood each other really well, knew how to satisfy each other both emotionally and physically, their personalities similar and complimenting, so it came as a big shock to everyone when they called it off.

"The spark." Nayeon speaks in a voice she can't decipher and Mina finds herself looking her way, their eyes locking. "They didn't have the spark."

Mina's heart begins to race in her chest as those intense dark brown eyes bore into hers. She smoothes down a lock of hair self consciously, as she allows her eyes to stay glued the older girl's gaze.

"I'll agree with that." Dahyun exclaims next to her, and Mina breaks their glance releasing a shaky breath she's been holding in her chest. "Seo has more chemistry with Nayeonnie than she has with her husband."

Mina feels something in her stomach churn.

"Are you drunk Tofu?" Nayeon smiles and scratches the side of her face making the twinkle in her eyes more pronounced.

"Nayeonnie, don't act so dense." Tzuyu rolls her eyes and stares at Nayeon evenly. "You don't know she's been hitting on you?"

Mina sees the corner of Nayoen's mouth lifting into a lopsided grin, making her cheeks look squishy. It's amazing how she wants to cup those cheeks one second and slap it another second.

"Are you saying she's into women?" Her smile blossoms full blown into a hearty laughter.

Mina lowers her eyes as she clutches a cushion close to her chest. "More like into annoying idiots." She mumbles under her breath. Jihyo hears her comment and throws an amused smile her way.

"I think so." Chaeyoung puts down her sketching pad on the coffee table and takes part in the gossip. "Maybe that's why their marriage isn't working."

Mina sees Nayeon pausing, touching her fist to her chin in thought. "Interesting."

When Nayeon steps into her room that night, she sees that Mina has dragged her bed closer to the wall and there's a tiny space between their beds. "What if I roll over and fall into the gap?" She gasps, her eyes shining bright in amusement.

"I'm sure girls would come running to pick you up." Mina growls and switches off the light in the room. "Especially the one next door."

Mina doesn't miss the amusement in those twinkling eyes grow.


	8. Chapter 8

Ten days, that's all she has. Their long working hours don't give her a lot of opportunities to find Seo and talk to her. She rubs her head tenderly, just above her eyes as it begins to throb. She feels exhausted physically and mentally.

A faint screeching of metal drags her from her thoughts. "What's wrong?" Nayeon asks carefully as she sits on the empty chair in the dressing room.

"I'm hungry." Mina's lips pull down into a pout. She really is, the constant search for the mysterious person, the overwhelming thoughts swarming her head, the ache in her chest all combined together seems to have drained her energy.

"Girls, your shot will be ready in five minutes." Their assistant yells into the room.

"This is going to be a long day." Jeongyeon sighs as she stretches on the uncomfortable metallic chair. "We should have ordered lunch earlier." She declares as she goes to lay on top of Chaeyoung who's taken up the couch entirely.

"Go away." Chaeyoung grumbles but moves back to make space for the taller girl.

Mina sees Nayeon fumbling in her backpack until she pulls out something, her eyes lighting up. "Here, have this." Her gaze is soft and warm as she thrusts a pack of chocolate snack into her hands. Mina smiles, head dipping with a faint blush to her cheeks when the incredibly long fingers gently brush against hers for a moment. "Thank you Nayeon-chan."

They get a small break an hour later and when Mina strolls past the waiting room, she overhears Jihyo telling Nayeon that she looks like she's about to faint and should eat something, Nayeon lies that she's already had some snacks and Jihyo should quit worrying. Mina's heart feels like someone has their hands wrapped around it, tugging and pulling on all the strings in them.

She manages to find Seo later that night when she offers to walk Kookeu because Nayeon has hurt her ankle while shooting. Her eyes narrow slightly as her gaze runs up and down the older girl. She's pretty, but Nayeon is definitely the most beautiful girl on earth, and it's beyond her why she'd be smitten with Seo.

Her mind tells her she's being shallow and petty, but she shuts it off.

"I was expecting to see Nayeonnie." Seo smiles as she passes a sweeping glance behind her shoulder, as if expecting Nayeon to show up any moment.

Mina glares at her pointedly, but quickly masks it with a friendly smile when Seo looks back at her. "She twisted her ankle, so here I am."

Seo frowns, lips turning down in a pout. "Tell her I miss her."

"Of course." Mina replies tersely. _Do I look like a fucking dove? Do you want to tie a note to my legs as well?_ asks herself mentally. She decides she doesn't like Seo.

"I know she's older than me, but she feels like a younger sister sometimes you know." Seo mutters as she walks her dog alongside her.

"Like a sister?" Mina walks up the stairs gathering some speed as Kookeu tugs on the leash in an impatient manner.

"I use to have this massive crush on her." Seo shakes her head with a laugh. "I mean who wouldn't? She's beautiful and funny, it's hard not to be infatuated with her."

Mina affirms to herself that she definitely doesn't like Seo. "You should tell her that." She grits through her teeth.

"Oh, I have." Seo opens the door to the lobby and lets two excited dogs in.

Mina raises a curious eyebrow. "What did she say?"

"She said, _I understand, I'm beautiful and funny. It's hard not to be infatuated with me._ " Seo concludes with a chuckle.

Mina tries to a fight off a smile from her face because those words are so typical of Nayeon.

"She's helped me a lot." Seo sighing snaps her thoughts back to her. "If it weren't for her, I'd still be stuck in a loveless marriage."

Mina's stomach drops because Seo seems more and more like the mysterious person.

"I had a lot of trouble accepting my sexuality." Seo continues, as they step into the lift. "Nayeon explained how I was hurting myself and my ex husband by lying to myself about who I'm in love with."

"Who are you in love with?" Mina turns to her side and fixes her gaze.

"My best friend Irene." Seo says, a blush spreading across her cheeks that makes her suddenly look likable.

"Nayeon knows this?" Mina breathes in a low voice.

"Oh she knows." Seo says softly and sighs, her shoulder slumping down with some form of relief. "Whenever we walk our dogs she is always giving me tips on how to ask her out." She chuckles fondly.

If Seo is the mysterious person, why would Nayeon help her get her girl? It doesn't make sense. Seo has to be crossed off the list. There's a warm and fuzzy feeling in her heart when she realizes that the older girl has helped Seo and pretended she knew nothing about the divorce or Seo being into women when the girls gossiped because she respects her privacy. Nayeon has a soft and caring side to her which she stubbornly refuses to show to the outside world.

The bell dinging in the lift as it reaches their floor draws her attention away from her thoughts.

"Goodnight Mina." Seo wraps an arm around her, pulling her into a side hug, holding the leash in the other hand.

Mina hugs her back, and whispers a soft goodnight deciding she likes Seo after all.

\---------------------

Mina's eyes flutters open when she hears a soft thud and a string of profanities being uttered in a low voice. "Nayeon-chan." She rubs her tired eyes as she tries to train them in the darkness. "What are you doing on the floor?"

Nayeon holds her bandaged foot and smiles. "Just chilling." She jokes and then winces in pain.

Mina pulls herself up to a sitting position on her bed and realizes that Nayeon must have rolled over in her sleep. The colour from her face drains because the older girl must have hurt her ankle again and it's all her fault. "I'm so sorry. I'll put the beds back together." She joins Nayeon by her side on the floor and loops an arm around her back and helps her up.

"You can't move the bed alone." Nayeon sighs as she straightens her spine.

Mina deflates because Nayeon is right. Jeongyeon helped her separate the beds, it's too heavy to be moved by one person. "Don't worry Minayah." Nayeon manages a smile through her pain as she sits on her bed. "I have done enough falling for one night." Her eyes twinkle with laughter.

Mina feels her heart swell with an indescribable emotion. "How about I sleep with you?" She strokes Nayeon's arms and looks away with a faint blush to her cheeks when she realizes how her words must have sounded. "I mean sleep on your bed with you, that way you won't roll over."

Nayeon seems to have missed the slip of tongue because she's laying back on her bed, her oversized white SpongeBob t-shirt and shorts making her look warm and huggable. "I'll be fine. Don't worry."

Mina's face falls a little at the rejection.

"But if you promise to tell me a story, you can sleep here." Nayeon flashes her a toothy smile.

Mina grins in amusement and quirks a brow. "A bedtime story?"

Nayeon nods her head with a wide smile and pulls the cover down next to her, patting her side.

Mina picks up Tim from her bed, and slides next to the older girl, pulling the quilt over their body, only up to their waist. She's wearing a deep neck lacy top with camisole shorts and it's thin and flimsy, barely covering her modesty, but her body always feels heated if she pulled the covers up to her neck.

Nayeon turns to her side and taps a finger to her chin. "Yeah, one with bunnies and candies."

Mina bites her lips to hide a smile. She peels her eyes away from the ceiling as she moves to rest on her side facing the older girl and begins tentatively, "Okay. So there was this bunny named Nabong."

Mina watches as Nayeon curve her lips into an adorable pout. "You start with once upon a time Minayah!" Mina chuckles, her hand gently brushing away a loose strand on the older girl's face. "Once upon a time, a bunny named Nabong lived in a house made of candies."

"A house of candies?" Nayeon's eye shine bright even in the dark night. "Does it have chocolate walls?"

Mina's hand comes to rest on her cheeks and she cups it gently. "If you want."

"I want." She whispers.

Mina nods swallowing thickly when the older girl's gaze lock onto hers. "Whenever she got hungry she'd break a piece of her house and eat it."

Nayeon brings her hand to lay on top of Mina's hand that's resting on her cheek. "She's going to be homeless pretty soon."

Mina draws their hands between them, linking their fingers together. There's a low pounding in her heart and she hopes Nayeon doesn't hear it. "No, because the house can magically fix itself."

"There's magic in this story?" Nayeon gasps, her lips parting slightly.

Mina gulps for breath as her eyes dip from Nayeon's, down to her lips and then back into the intense dark orbs that's staring into hers with an unreadable emotion. "Yeah." She releases a shaky breath as she draws their linked hands, and brings it to rest on either side of her waist.

Nayeon's fingers feel warm and hot to the touch on the bare skin between her top and shorts.

Mina allows her eyes to wander the older girl's face as she strokes her hands back up Nayeon's strong but soft arms. "What kind of story would it be without magic?" She lets her hand find purchase on the older girl's shoulder. She wonders if she imagines Nayeon's eyes zooming in on her lips.

"Tell me more." Her voice is thick and hoarse as Mina scoots a little closer to her on the bed.

"I can't think anymore." Mina's heart is pounding in her throat as she looks into the smoldering eyes in front of her. She slides in even closer, aware of every single pounding in her neck and her breath catches in her throat when their legs brush and Nayeon's thigh move to sit snuggly between her legs.

"We should sleep then." Nayeon's beautiful face is mere inches away from her, that she is almost whispering those words into her mouth, her breath hot on her lips.

"Okay." Mina peels her eyes away from the intense stare and closes them shut as she nuzzles their cheeks together. There's a low warmth spreading in her stomach, across every inch of heated skin in her body and she doesn't know how to douse it. She loops her arms under Nayeon's, pulls her closer and connects the length of their body, taking in a sharp intake of breath when they mould into each other, every curve meeting and crushing together.

"Goodnight Nayeon-chan." She half whimpers into her short hair as Nayeon slides a warm hand under her top and lets it linger on the sensitive skin on her back, setting goosebumps wherever her fingers touched her heated skin.

"Goodnight." Nayeon whispers into her ear and Mina bites her lips to hold back a shuddery breath as their legs tangle further into each other.

She doesn't let go off the older girl until the next morning.


	9. Chapter 9

The sunlight filters through the blind, caressing the soft skin on her face. Mina takes a moment to shake off the sleep from her eyes. The first thing she's aware of is the fragrance of citrus and ocean looming in the room. It doesn't take long for last night's events to trickle through her consciousness and the rush of regret and shame to clog her mind. 

She blinks her eyes open. It's time to face the reality. She can no longer pretend this thing, whatever it is, she feels for Nayeon is just friendship, is born out of platonic affection. Her body has reacted physically, sexually to the older girl and she wonders if she imagined seeing the same reciprocated in the dark eyes that haunts her every waking moment. 

_What am I doing?_ She buries her face into the soft, warm sheets. She's supposed to find Nayeon's mysterious person, she can't-isn't allowed to come in between them. She can't alter the timeline of the past, can't forget why she was sent to the past; to save Nayeon from eternal darkness, not to get distracted while at it. She needs to focus, she needs a new plan, and she definitely needs to keep her distance from the older girl. Slowly, she pushes herself out of bed, letting her feet hit the cool, wooden floor. A shower gives her the clarity she needs. 

If Nayeon is not going to tell her who she's in love with, then she is going to have to find it herself. All she needs to do is find the missing links and connect the dots. She has to start somewhere first and reluctantly decides it would have to be Nayeon's mother, no matter how strange or intrusive she's going to come across. 

It's nearly midday when she reaches the studio with Momo and Sana. The pleasant aroma of coffee mixed with the laughter and chatter of the staff welcomes her as she opens the door. Mina takes a deep breath and heads towards the studio assigned for them. 

"The J-line is finally here." Jeongyeon's teasing voice and amused face greets her first. "Some of us have been slaving away since five in the morning." It's a running joke between the girls that the producers' have a soft spot for the foreign line. 

Mina is about to answer her when she hears Chaeyoung's soft voice behind her. "I wouldn't call snoring on that sofa slaving away." She swallows hard and clutches at her chest, hoping that her heart would stop racing. She feels like her entire body might shut down- because her sharp senses doesn't fail to pick up on the familiar fragrance of citrus and ocean. A fragrance she knows that belongs to Nayeon. A fragrance she had desperately tried to hold on to for an agonizing four hundred days. 

Mina remembers the first rule she jolted down this morning. _Keep your distance._ She takes a subconscious step closer to Momo and leans- cowers into her side when Chaeyoung and Nayeon walk around them and come into her line of vision. 

She ignores Momo's quizzical glance on her as she doesn't let go for a while. "Are you okay?" Momo asks, wondering if Mina's coming down with something again.

"Do I have to be sick to hug you?" Mina jokes, to take the attention away from her overly clingy behaviour. She feels Nayeon's gaze on her but keeps her eyes fixated on Momo or Sana. She lets out a soft sigh of relief when the trio say their goodbye and head out to the dorm. 

Couple of hours later, feet aching and killing, she wants to head home, get herself comfortable and warm, curl into a ball and sleep the rest of the day away. Her brain feels like its on a constant marathon, begs her to press stop and rest. She almost gives into the temptation, when her eyes skitter to the side and find the calendar. _22.12.2020._ The date reads.

Nine days. The clock is unwavering in its ticking. Time is constantly slipping. Fate, like a mother's love, is set, invariant and she can't run away from it forever. 

_Find her wish and set her free._

The ominous voice sounds in her head. 

So with unsteady hands she dials the familiar number on her phone. "Minari, my darling." An affectionate voice sounds from the other end. 

\--------------

Sana shoots her a confused look, and tilts her head to a side. "Where are you going?"

Mina averts her gaze because she is not comfortable with lies. And Sana is Sana. She's perceptive, wise beyond her years and would see right through her. "To see a friend. I'll be home by evening." She slips her backpack up on her shoulder and rushes out without waiting for a reply. 

An hour later, she's sitting on a stool, holding a steaming mug of coffee in her hand. Opposite her is the woman she considers family, a woman she's so fond of, loves and adores and gets the same twice fold in return, to the extent of the older woman telling her one day, Just call me Mama, Minari !

She's holding a mug of hot chocolate in her hand, her smile wide and endearing, and reminds Mina so much of Nayeon that she tells her that. The smile widens on the older woman's face. "Aren't you the sweetest thing ever?" She gushes, "It's no wonder Nayeon is-" Her voice trails off as she looks to her side for a moment and shakes her head, "Nayeon is always speaking highly of you." She finishes with a fond gaze.

Mina gets reminded of the reason why she's here when Nayeon's name leaves the older woman's lips. Taking a bout of breath, she lets the second lie of the day slip out, "Speaking of Nayeon, does she like anyone?"

There's a twinkle in the eyes before her.

"A friend of mine likes her and she was wondering if Nayeon is available."

The light diminishes in the dark orbs. 

The woman doesn't say anything for a while, and there's something pained and miserable about her expression that unnerves Mina. "I don't know." Her voice is low and difficult to hear. "Just like you don't know." She drops the last few words into nothing but a mere whisper. 

When Mina's back at the dorm, Nayeon is sleeping and she's seething. Seething with anger, frustration, but most of all disappointment.

_I don't know._

_Just like you don't know._

The words rattle around in her head. Why does nobody know? Why doesn't she know? She's always trusted the older girl and shared every one of her dark thoughts with her. So why couldn't Nayeon have done the same? Was the faith and trust she placed in the older girl completely one-sided? The anger and confusion boils and bubbles within her threatening to seep through every inch of her skin. 

The next morning when she enters the radio station she chooses a seat as far away as possible from Nayeon. She feels Sana's eyes on her but she's too preoccupied with her own thoughts to give it any thought. She wonders how someone can want to spend all their time looking at one face, yet have enough willpower to do the opposite? Mina surprises herself with her mental strength. 

Momo pulls everyone into a group hug after the show. Mina jumps away like she's been shocked when Jihyo pulls Nayeon from behind her and their shoulders accidentally brush against each other. Sana's eyes linger on her again and its unnerving. 

"Did you have a fight with Nayeon?" Sana apparently doesn't like to beat around the bush because she gets straight to the point.

"No," Mina hesitates briefly before she answers with a pout, looking at the distant lights of the vehicles speeding past, "It's just that I know she likes someone, but won't tell who."

Sana lets out a startled coughing sound which dies down into a solemn look on her face. Mina needs a greater perspective, to take a step back and see the whole picture and Sana is insightful, knows people more than she lets on, so Mina asks, "Do you know who?" 

Sana rests her hands on the balcony railing and glances down to take a look at Nayeon walking Kookeu to the park. Nayeon looks up briefly and smiles at her. She sees her eyes land on Mina who's gazing at the stars. Her whole demeanour changes, eyes soften around the edges as she looks tenderly at the younger girl. After a while, she blinks, shakes her head and mutters something to herself and Sana is pretty sure she's cursing herself for forgetting that she's there to walk her dog. 

"I have an inkling, but it's not my place to tell." Sana breathes out. "Have you asked her?"

"I did." Mina closes her eyes for a while as she lets the pleasant night air quieten the loud thoughts in her head. "She said she loves herself."

Sana's eyes follows Nayeon as she disappears behind the trees. "Then she's more of a coward than I thought."


	10. Chapter 10

"Then she's more of a coward than I thought."

Mina nods her head. A part of her wants to defend Nayeon, but in the end Sana's words are true, can't be denied. Nayeon is stuck between the two worlds because she'd been a coward in love.

But Mina can't help but admire the love she carries for this mystery person. She's even a little jealous of them because they have and possess a love so immaculate and indestructible that it's even made death immaterial, and prevails and persists in a soul even after saying goodbye to the mortal life. The kind of love she reads about in books, the kind of love she had hoped-earned as a child to have some day.

Later in the night they're at a VIP club and Mina sits in a corner taking drinks politely when offered but never drinking them.

She is aware of the past, remembers every second of it like the back of her hand, so she knows Nayeon will join them a bit later because she is shooting for a project separately. What she doesn't know- isn't prepared for is the way her heart jumps, lurches when Nayeon walks into the club.

When Dance Monkey comes on Jeongyeon drags her to the dance floor, and Mina reluctantly joins her. But Jeongyeon's energy and stupid grin gets to her after a while, and Mina feels the vibe of the music and lets her body match the rhythm. Soon the other girls join them and it's all laughter and smiles and Mina doesn't care she looks like an idiot when Momo spins her around, twisting, turning and holding hands as they change sides.

She moves in her silver sequined dress which catches and reflects the lights of the disco ball on the ceiling, hips swaying and blonde hair bouncing with each move and beat.

The club is electric, the mood is upbeat and the songs shifts to Weeknd's Cant feel my face. Momo twirls her around and Mina laughs when she accidentally steps on her toes and apologizes profusely. She shakes her head and pats her cheeks patronizingly to show her she's fine. Provoked, Momo twirls her around again, wraps her arms around her middle and tries to lift her and Mina laughs a little more.

Her laughter freezes on her face and her heart beats-pounds in her ears that fades out the music pumping in the club when her eyes meet Nayeon's through the crowd.

Somewhere in the background she hears Weeknd's dark voice singing I can't feel my face when I'm with you but the pounding in her chest is so loud that it drowns out everything else. Momo swings her around again and Mina loses sight of the older girl for a moment. Her heartbeat is steadfast, refuses to return to normal, matches every rhythm and beat of the song that's playing.

When she's spun again, she sees Nayeon making her way through the crowd towards them, her eyes never leaving hers. 

In the dark of the club all she can see is her defined cheekbones and dark eyes shining and reflecting and scattering the laser light flashing around them. There are muscles under the boxy button down beige vintage shirt she's wearing, but not the bulky kind one gets from years of weight lifting, it's strong but smooth and her fingers itch to feel them. Her slim waist is tucked into black ripped jeans which is folded at the ankle. Her short hair is slicked back behind her ears, a dog tag adorns her slender neck and the leather boots she's wearing click clacks on the floor as she makes her way forward. The whole look screams sexy, alluring and edgy, but then her lips quirk up the tiniest bit into a lopsided grin, and Mina watches with awe how in that moment her entire face looks carefree and innocent. The kind of smile a child wears when they have something mischievous planned.

This thing, this pull between them can't be just physical because there are butterflies with dragon wings flapping about in her stomach, a heated haze swallowing her whole being, time threatening to stand still as their eyes remain locked.

"Nayeonnie!" Chaeyoung jumps excitedly and Mina finally remembers to breathe as Nayeon walks past her breaking their glance and steps into the arms of the younger girl.

"Uhmm Mina?," Momo's voice in her ears startle her, "You're not dancing."

She feels her cheeks flush and face heat up. She turns towards Momo and loops her arms around her neck, swaying to the music.

Her gaze falls on Nayeon who's right behind Momo and their eyes meet again. "Hi." Nayeon tells Chaeyoung, her voice low and husky, making Mina shiver. She's sure her cheeks are redder, she can by tell by Nayeon's expression, the tiny smirk on her plump lips. A shameless and overwhelming urge to press her own upon them is primal, animalistic and she doesn't bother to hide the desire in her darkened eyes anymore.

\---------------

"Chug, chug, chug." Nayeon cheers Jeongyeon on as she stands on a table and records the whole chaotic scene on her phone.

Jihyo grunts in disapproval. She leaves Mina's side on the couch and tugs Nayeon down by the collar of her shirt. "No more drinks for you." She drags Jeongyeon along with her and deposits them both on the couch.

Mina swallows thickly because instead of taking the original spot next to her, Jihyo has pushed Nayeon to her side and now they're squeezed in on the V-shaped couch, shoulders brushing, thighs grazing. She is so close she can feel the heat of her skin radiating through the fabric. Her entire body feels warm and tingly, and it takes all of her self control to resist the urge to pull the older girl into her, to smash their lips together. Instead, she moves closer to Momo and lays her head on her shoulder.

"Nayeon," Jeongyeon's eyebrows raise in question, "Want to play truth or dare?"

"Not a good idea when we're drunk." Nayeon chuckles.

"I want to know what kind of secrets you're hiding." Jeongyeon says looking up at her with a small smile creeping on to her lips.

Mina sees Nayeon's eyes widen through the corner of her vision, her cheeks turning bright red. "I have none." She lies, and Mina knows it's a lie. She turns to look at Nayeon only to find her eyes already on her. Their eyes lock and Mina's face turns slightly pink.

"You are getting really good at lying Nayeon-chan!" Mina whispers as she snuggles further into Momo's side.

Nayeon looks at her and there's a hint of pain in her eyes. "Some secrets are best kept secrets Minayah." She replies with a small smile that doesn't reach her eyes.

When they get home, nobody is in the mood to retire to bed. Dahyun and Jihyo are preparing a late night snack in the kitchen. Tzuyu, Chaeyoung and Jeongyeon are singing out of tune on their karaoke. Sana is laying on top of Nayeon who's sprawled out on the couch. Mina is on Momo's lap and pretends to be absorbed in a game but her sharp ears don't miss a thing.

"Tell me a story Nayeon-chan." Sana says as she snuggles her face further into Nayeon's chest.

Mina blushes faintly as a memory of a particular night of story telling flashes through her mind.

"I'm not good with stories." Nayeon says, keeping her grip on Sana's waist so she doesn't fall off the couch.

"I don't care." Sana says in a low voice, "Go on!"

"Alright." Nayeon replies, and looks at Mina. Mina knows her eyes are on her, so she looks down. She knows looking into the dark eyes right now would be a terrible idea because her stomach flips just by the knowledge they're on hers.

"Once upon a time there lived a princess." Nayeon begins and Mina fixates her gaze on her phone, "She was in love with a prince. But she didn't know someone else was in love with her."

"Why do Princess always fall for Princes and not for peasants?" Momo sighs and pecks Mina on her forehead, and smiles cutely.

"Anyway," Mina hears Nayeon clear her throat, "This someone else, finally understood that the Princess belonged to the Prince." Mina lifts her eyes away from the phone and catches Nayeon staring in their direction. "They finally understood there's no point standing in the way of true love."

"Are you the prince Nayeon-Chan?" Sana's question seem to throw Nayeon a little off as she breaks their glance. Mina studies her closely as Nayeon looks down at her fingers intertwined with Momo's.

"I'll always be the peasant." Nayeon sighs as she wraps her arms around Sana and lays a peck on her forehead. The solemn expression on her face and the misery in her eyes reminds Mina of the purpose she's here.

She's finally found the missing link. Nayeon is in love with someone who's in love with someone else.

She lifts her head up from her phone and looks straight into the elusive eyes, "Maybe the Princess loves the Peasant too." She says, her gaze skittering back and forth between Nayeon and Momo.

"Fairytales are all about the Prince and the Princess Minayah!!" Mina hears her reply and she can't look at her anymore because she wants to pull her into a hug and hold onto her as tightly as she can.

But now she has a clarity. Nayeon is in love with someone out of reach. And she remembers every single thing from the past. How Nayeon began to pull away from her when she started to date Momo. The anguish and pain she saw in her eyes when she saw them together. The same anguish and pain she sees in her eyes whenever she sees them together.

She ignores the pain in her heart as the truth finally descends upon her.

Nayeon is in love with Momo.


	11. Chapter 11

When Nayeon sleeps that night, Mina watches her with an ache in her heart. She thinks it's a lie how people say when you're done grieving your heart becomes stronger. Maybe she's not done grieving, maybe she'll never be done grieving. A part of her will be gone with Nayeon and the remaining part would never learn to navigate through life without her.

When she had come back home after a long night of partying, exhausted beyond belief, she thought she might have to fight off sleep so she can spend more time watching her beautiful face, but the only thing she has to fight now is the temptation to crawl into Nayeon's bed and take her into her arms.

 _Are you still upset over your breakup?_ She remembers Nayeon's concerned voice asking her. Her naive heart had believed that it was born out of concern.

_"Nayeon-chan isn't talking much." Momo has said one day when she dragged the older girl to a restaurant along with them while they were still dating._

_"Nobody likes being the third wheel Momo."_

Now she knows why exactly Nayeon hadn't liked being the third wheel.

It's all theory at this point. She needs a plan, needs to research, to solidify her assumptions. So the next morning she wakes up before Nayeon and finds Momo in the kitchen making breakfast.

She waits for Nayeon to join them. When she does, Mina walks to Momo, rests her hands on the table and leans up to lay a peck on her cheek. "Thanks for breakfast babe."

Through the corner of her vision she sees Nayeon stiffening, and her head drooping like someone's knocked the air out of her chest. Mina should be happy, her theory has been proven right, she's found Nayeon's last wish, instead she feels an overwhelming urge to cry. To pull the older girl by her collar and demand her why she had to choose Momo out of all people.

She wonders briefly if she is not over Momo. She thought she was but why is her stomach churning, why is her heart shattering like it could never be put back together, why is she drowning in a sea of her own unshed tears? What is this feeling of jealousy that's threatening to devour her entire being?

Later that day, they are having lunch after a long day of dance rehearsals and shoots and Nayeon decides she doesn't like the food she has and goes to grab Dahyun's.

"Why do you always take things that belongs to others?" Dahyun crosses her arms over her chest, but the smile on her lips says she doesn't really care.

"No morals." Mina mutters under her breath, as she jerks her head in the direction of the older girl to meet her eyes in a fiery, intense stare.

Mina sees Nayeon flinch, but she quickly masks it and her lips quirk up in the slightest of a grin. Always pretending, always acting like she's invincible, like nothing could hurt her when Mina knows she was hurting until the moment she took her last breath. Never letting anyone see past the walls she had put up, never letting her see past those invisible barriers. "Pff Minayah, morals won't get you what you want."

"Then don't want things you shouldn't." She snaps a little too loudly for her. She's breathing hard, her chest is rising and falling with rapid breaths and the room is filled with complete silence.

Nayeon lets out a tight smile, nods her head, as she rakes her fingers through her short silky hair, "Trust me, I know that better than anyone." Her voice cracks at the end, and Mina feels her own heart breaking along with it.

The girls in the room share awkward glances because this doesn't seem about food anymore.

Mina watches as Nayeon walks out the room with shoulder slumped, hands shoved into her pockets with a gait of a soldier injured in a battlefield. She takes a step forward as if to stop her from leaving, but stops herself instead. She blinks back the tears in her eyes, hates herself a little for the hurt she's inflicted upon the older girl but she's hurting too for some reason.

"I'll be right back." Chaeyoung tells the girls in the dressing room and rushes out in the direction Nayeon had disappeared.

\---------------------

Mina keeps her eyes locked on Nayeon as she joins them. The older girl keeps her eyes to herself, there's a faint smile on her face as she answers the interviewer's questions but Mina knows her all too well to believe they are sincere. She doesn't know how much time passes. She is dimly aware of the interviewer saying, "We have collected a list of embarrassing things you've done as a child." but she pushes his voice to the back of her mind.

Mina gazes freely at Nayeon. They've never been physically clingy, but no matter the distance between them she has always felt the closest to the older girl. They could be standing at the opposite ends of a room and Mina would still feel the pull between them. Nayeon is like the Sun, bright and burning, pulling everyone towards her energy and she'll always be the Pluto to her Sun, cold and insignificant.

"We got this from Mina's mother." The words drag her out of her thoughts cruelly. She feels a tinge of red coating her face. The first time around the embarrassment had been immense, and she hadn't expected to feel the same again. She's aware of every single pairs of eyes looking at her, eagerly waiting for her response.

"I wrote that when I was ten." Her blush burns through her cheeks.

 _"My Prince Charming would declare their undying love for me at the stroke of midnight on New Year's, under the moonlight, with a bunch of red roses."_ He reads from a journal paying no attention to how flustered she looks. "You must have read a lot of romance novels." He titters.

"I did." A bitter smile surfaces on her lips. She feels Nayeon's eyes on her as she continues, "I blame it for giving me unrealistic expectations of love." The rational part of her knows that fairy tales don't happen to real people but the child in her still secretly longs for her Prince Charming.

It snows that night. Mina hears Nayeon pulling her sheets up and settling on her bed. She looks out the window pane at the snowflakes falling, covering the trees in white.

An hour could have passed or two, she doesn't know but eventually her eyes grow tired. She rolls over a little and her gaze lands on Nayeon's back. She sees the rise and fall of her body with every soft breath she takes. It brings her peace until she realizes that in six days Nayeon would be taking her final breath. Mina feels the sorrow envelope her like a coat that's ill fitting- suffocating and drowning her.

Then Nayeon rolls over. She's not sleeping either. And Mina knows she should look away, but she doesn't. Their eyes lock over the short distance between them, and Nayeon's pensive look softens and the muscles in her face relax. There's something about those dark haunting eyes, something about that gaze she's sure she'll never find in another person.

With anyone else Mina would drop her gaze but with Nayeon she can't seem to look away. They say eyes are window to a soul and despite the walls that Nayeon has put up around her, Mina can see through them, see both the pain and gentleness inside her.

"The Princess always get their Prince Charming." Nayeon's gaze mellows into an open and honest look as she speaks with a quiet intensity.

Mina feels her throat closing up. "I don't get mine."

The moment the words leave her lips, her brain pauses. Like a puzzle that's coming together day by day, you are utterly clueless because there are missing pieces and suddenly one day all of them come together and you finally see the full picture. Like everything blurred coming into focus after wearing glasses.

Everyone moved on after her death. Except her.

 _You've never seemed too fond of Hei._ Dahyun's voice drawls in her head.

She wasn't fond of Seo.

 _Then don't want things you shouldn't._ She's spat jealously.

We always notice the traits of people we love in their family.

 _Your smile is so much like Nayeon-Chan's._ She's told Nayeon's mother.

 _I'd do anything to get to see her face one more time._ She's thought as she threw the coin into the river.

_"Momo stop whining. It's giving me a headache."_

_"Nayeon is whining too but you told me she's adorable."_

_Don't talk about her in past tense._ She's yelled. _I still feel her everywhere._

The truth is finally clear to see. From the very beginning she had belonged to Nayeon.

 _She's in love with Nayeon._ Always been. 

She'd never get her Prince Charming because she is in love with someone else.

She'd never get her Prince Charming because she doesn't get to live long.

Death will win. Destiny will win.

And she'll have nothing again.


	12. Chapter 12

Mina gawks, her mouth set in a hard line and clenched. She tries to remain that way but despite the seriousness of her question and the weight of the situation, Nayeon is laughing - and her laughter is so gleeful and childish that Mina finds her mouth twitching into a smile.

"Nayeon-chan," She huffs and tries to stomp her foot loudly on the floor to get her attention and a flush creeps up on her face when it leaves nothing but a soft thud sound. "I'm trying to help you here."

Nayeon holds her hands up in the air, but her mouth is still twisted in a smile and Mina wants to see if pulling her in for a sudden kiss would wipe the stupid lopsided grin off her face- all for research purpose of course.

" _Nayeon-chan stick your tongue down Momo's throat and tell her you love her._ " Nayeon cocks her head to a side and taps a finger to her chin, nose scrunching and eyes gleaming and it's adorable and distracting and Mina tries - by god she tries - to pay attention to the words that's leaving her annoyingly plump and alluring lips, tries to blink away the fog in her brain, so she can actually listen and not be caught staring at her mouth. "That's not help. That's assault."

Mina hears the laughter in her tone. "You're so-." She wants to say _annoying_ but Nayeon is leaning against the wall, dressed in an oversized white t-shirt and stonewashed blue jeans, wearing a snapback and sneakers, watching her with that dazzling twinkle in her eyes that's even more pronounced than usual and Mina's mind short-circuits and gets stuck on the word _attractive_. She doesn't bother finishing her sentence. She shakes her head, lets out a frustrated sigh and struts her way out of the room. 

She hears Nayeon's amused voice asking her to stop. She hears footsteps rushing behind her. She comes to a halt when the older girl catches up and steps right in front her. "I'm not in love with Momo, I promise." She draws nearer. 

Mina's eyes spark with a fierce intensity as their gaze lock onto each other. "Good." She doesn't recognise her own voice. It's thick, coated with longing and yearning, and she desperately hopes Nayeon doesn't hear it. 

"Is this why you've been acting strange with me?" Nayeon draws her lower lip between her teeth, fingers self-consciously pulling at her t-shirt, eyes downcast. Her voice trails off, "I thought you were over her."

She is. She needs to take a step away from Nayeon because those dark eyes looks up, studies her, scrutinizes her every reaction, and her stomach flutters. "I am over her." She whispers, curious if Nayeon can understand the implied meaning. 

"Good." Nayeon mirrors her tone from earlier, and Mina keeps her eyes trained on the older girl, not wiling to back down from the staring competition they're having despite the fast rising blush on her cheeks because she knows if she looks away now that infuriating, exasperating, maddening, completely charming, utterly captivating, wholly mesmerising grin on Nayeon's face would widen. 

Mina spends the next day hardly concentrating on the interviews, shoots and rehearsals they have. No matter how hard she tries she somehow finds herself back in the place she started. The calendar on her phone reminds her it's already the 27th of December. Time is not on her side. 

She skims through the notepad on her mobile. _Seo crossed out. Hei crossed out. Momo crossed out. Jeongyeon crossed out._ Who else can Nayeon be in love with? She doesn't recall Nayeon showing remotely any interest in anyone outside the checklist she has in her hand. 

Her eyes aimlessly skitter around the hotel lounge they're at for a late night show. They narrow when they catch sight of a particular visiting card laid out on the mahogany coffee table. _Le Bistro._ The bold and cursive letters read. She's sure she's heard of this name before but can't pinpoint it. 

Her gaze is drawn to Nayeon who walks - bounces into the lounge, with an abundance of energy that's uncalled for and unfair to have at two in the morning. "Hey Duracell, shut it." Jeongyeon groans as Nayeon jumps on the couch and starts tugging on her sleeves to join her for a dance. 

"I'm bored." Nayeon pouts and Mina thinks it's pathetic how it turns her a saggy ball of mush. She's always found Nayeon adorable and the realisation that she's in love with her only serves to heighten the way she feels. 

"Take my phone." She says quickly because Jeongyeon looks like she's two seconds away from kicking the older girl off the couch. "It's got a new game on it. You'll like it." 

Nayeon looks surprised, so does everyone. It's not everyday Mina offers to share her game. "Thank you Minayah." She smiles softly as she takes Mina's offered phone. 

Mina is sure she possesses a decent vocabulary but those shining eyes are looking at her, their fingers are gently grazing, there's this crackle in air that seems to happen whenever they get within a foot of each other and she's having a hard time recalling the two words that people normally use to answer a simple thanks.

Her heart is lost in a haze, but her attentive mind is screaming at her for some reason and she averts her gaze to pay attention to the feeling that she's stumbled upon something of importance.

 _Take my phone._ Her mind repeats. 

_Le Bistro._ The name card reads. 

_Phone. Le Bistro._

Her eyes widen when she finally realises where she's heard that name before. 

\-------------------

_Le Bistro._

Mina remembers where she's heard that name before. 

_"Hello. Is this the Twice residence?"_

_"Yes, it is." Mina answers gazing at Nayeon's sweater that's in the laundry bag._

_"I'm Ayeong, manager of Le Bistro. I'm really sorry about your loss." The woman speaks in a sympathetic tone. "I'm just here to inform you that we've cancelled the order Nayeon had placed with us. The money would be returned to her account."_

_"Okay." Mina replies, still staring blankly at the sweater._

When the memory comes back to surface, Mina quickly types the name into google on her iPad and lets out a soft gasp when images of the place comes up. With the view of the sea, the sand, and moonlight lit rooftop, the restaurant looks like it can offer the epitome of romance. This is definitely not the kind of place friends went with each other, it's the kind of place that spoke of magical date nights. 

She feels a bile rising up her throat. Nayeon was planning to take her mystery person here. The muscles in her jaw ache and her lips quiver as she tries to stop the tears that's threatening to stream down her half closed eyes. 

She takes a deep breath and steadies herself. She feels pathetic to be jealous of this person, because the past is set in stone. This Nayeon is only a ghost of the past and no matter how much she wishes otherwise, her heart belonged to someone else. The evidence is staring at her from the dimly lit screen. 

She rolls around in her bed, sleep eluding her. She waits impatiently until the clock strikes ten the next day. Chaeyoung elbows her in the rib to pay attention to the interview but she ignores her. She excuses herself quickly during the break and dials the number she's found on the internet.

"Le Bistro."

"Can I speak to manager Ayeong?" Mina asks.

"This is her."

There's no point beating around the bush. She gets straight to the point. "Can you let me know if there's a booking under the name of Im Nayeon?"

There's a silence on the other end for a while and Mina hears the woman typing on her computer. "There is, for the first of January. Would you like to modify it?"

"I would just like to know the name of the other guest she's booked the night for."

The woman pauses. "I'm sorry that's confidential information."

Mina set her palms flat down on the bathroom counter. She's so close to truth. She feels - knows it. She's not going to be disheartened by some random woman on the phone. "You don't understand. I need to know the information." She pleads. 

"I'm sorry." Mina doesn't curse but she really wants to when she hears dial tone at the other end. 

"Mina, time for the next shot." Sana's voice sounds outside the door and Mina walks out the bathroom with a steely determination that she's going to get the name from the woman somehow. Myoui women are known for their perseverance, not for giving up. 

Later that evening, Mina wonders if Momo is going to get a clue that she's zoning her out. Her mind is preoccupied with making various schemes that even includes kidnapping the manager's cat and getting information in return and Momo keeps rambling on about raw octopuses. 

"Nayeon has a secret box everyone." Her eyes fly open when she hears a loud voice ring through the dorm. She sees Jeongyeon protecting herself behind a couch, a set of keys dangling from her hand and Nayeon trying to jump over it, threatening to kill her when she gets her hands on her. "There are letters in it. She won't let me see."

"I swear I'll fucking kill you." Nayeon grunts as she jumps over the couch and Jeongyeon throws the keys to Mina.

Joengyeon yells, "Don't give it to her."

In the past she had given the keys to her. But now she has a mission so Mina steps back from Nayeon who approaches her with _oh this target is easy_ overly-confident smile. She tucks a lock of hair behind her ear and twirls on her heels running from the living room into her room. Nayeon is swift on her feet so she doesn't get to shut the door. 

"Just give the keys to me Minayah." Nayeon locks the door behind her to keep Jeongyeon out. Her voice takes a mischievous and menacing tone that sends shivers racing down Mina's spine. She slowly backs away from the older girl.

"Nope." She says, her eyes widening when her shoulders hit the wall. She knows there's no point hiding her hands behind her back because Nayeon is physically stronger. Without thinking she drops the keys down the front of her blouse, into her bra.

She sees Nayeon's eyes dip from her eyes, to the moles on her nose, down to her lips and they continue to travel further. "Nayeon-chan," Mina breathes, when her gaze lands on her chest. "This is private property." Her voice drops an octave. 

"I won't trespass." Nayeon licks her lip and Mina finds herself staring at those full and inviting lips. She forgets to breathe because Nayeon brings her hands forward and she's trapped between the older girl's arms and the wall. "No touching anywhere, I promise." Her hoarse voice utters. 

The word _touch_ sends another blush creeping up her cheeks. Nayeon leans in further, and their cheeks are almost grazing, Mina has to fight off the urge to flutter her eyes shut when Nayeon's fingers hover over her throat. 

"Not here." She whispers those words close to her ears and Mina's toes curl and she has to suppress a whimper but she refuses to look away from the eyes that's sparkling and burning with something that makes every inch of her being come alive. 

"Not here." Nayeon breathes, her finger ghosting over the skin on Mina's collarbone. Mina is not sure how she's still breathing because all the air in her chest seemed to have completely left her. 

Tantalising fingers travel southwards. Dark eyes lock onto brown ones. "And definitely not here." Nayeon's hand hovers over her breast and Mina's lips part, she lets out a strangled moan and her eyes flutter shut because she knows she'll come undone if she stared at those intense eyes any longer. 

She hears a low chuckle near her ears. "Gotcha." 

Nayeon has somehow retrieved the keys without touching her. She opens her eyes and it takes a few seconds to see through the desire clouding them. When the haze finally clears she notices the keyring magnet in Nayeon's hand. 

She waits a few moments to collect herself because she's still breathing heavy and her face is flushed.

Nayeon grins at her, "Didn't trespass."

 _Cocky little shit._ Mina puts her hands to the older girl's chest and shoves her away from her. Nayeon stumbles, falls and laughs. 

Mina falls harder.


End file.
